Not Only in Stone
Phyllis Somerville
PB 304 PP 158 x 115 ISBN 9780949268044
$18.95 History Wakefield Press
Not Only in Stone is the story of
Polly Thomas, a woman of strength, courage, and compassion, whose
life is intimately tied to the pioneering era of South Australia.
Polly arrives in Adelaide from Cornwall in
1865 with her husband Nathan, a miner, Richard, her baby son,
and Ellen, her young sister. The baby had been born on the long
and arduous voyage to Australia. Polly and Nathan move to the
copper mining towns on the Yorke Peninsula where tragedy and death
haunt Polly’s life. Her sister dies in childbirth; Polly
has four children but only two survive; Nathan is crippled; and
a crooked lawyer swindles Polly of her life savings.
Although tragedy robs Polly’s life of
joy, her independent spirit is never quelled. This is a history
with a human face.
‘A family life chronicle full of the
stuff of the pioneers . . . a closely woven tapestry
of the humour and pathos of life.’ – Advertiser